Itchy

Welcome Pinkgate,
Congrats!
:day :day :day

Yes the next two years is where you settle in or forge ahead. Don't stress over it. Everyone thinks that after a year we are all healed. Heck, it might take as many years as we were drinking to completely recover, or just a year or three. I can tell you that it is different for each. You will now live longer than if you continued so there is really no rush. On the other hand when do you want to jump back in and make some waves? Don't let the now unlimited choices of what you can choose now with your new freedom overwhelm. Just pick one, do it, then another.

You know it really doesn't make any difference if you do great things or little things, as long as you are happy. I retired at 45 to travel and became an alcoholic who achieved a lot. Then spent a couple of years in bondage to it. I am content in my early retirement now. No longer damned if I do, and damned if I don't. That's the key I think, be-ing.

Jeni26

Dee...thank you xxxx

venuscat

^^^ Ditto ♥

Itchy

Yeah Dee,
Some fine people here.

Jen,
Sounds like you are all but out of it.

VKitten,
Not deserving of what from who. You mean us? Your fellow ex alcoholics? You know you have really brightened my days and nights many more times than not. Most of us don't feel like we deserve to be wherever we are you know. As if we are only on a guest pass and like Cinderella (or Cinderfella) eventually be found out. We all deserve to be happy. It's just that we don't know yet what to be happy doing or happy with what. Or with who.

Enjoy your weekend!

venuscat

Cinderella, hmm? My hair is so long Itchy I feel more like Rapunzel.
Off to wash it.

Thank you!! ♥

V xx

Dee74

With you all the way Itchy

D

Jeni26

For sweet V because you are so deserving of good things my friend...you just gotta believe that xxx

venuscat

SnoozyQ

Hello lovelies , how are you all today . I've had a busy day at work and crashed when I got home l had a few Zzzzzzzzzzzs and I'm good to go .

Same thing tomorrow , i was hoping to get out early , it being Mother's Day and all , but hopefully will catch up with all my pups when i finish work .

I believe every single Mum who works , should be entitled to have Mother's Day off !



I hope you are all doing well xx

Much love always xx

Jeni26

Hi Snoozy...no Mothers Day here in the UK. We had it a while back. I spent mine in a walk in medical centre with a frozen shoulder..but my kids show me all the time they love me..and I try my best with my Mum too.

Hope you have a relaxing weekend xx

I'm feeling better already...now gotta face the ironing...:help

Love to you all

FBL

Congrats, PinkGate! Welcome (officially) to "the club"

V and Jen, hope you're both feeling better today. Whenever I get down, I just remember what it was like when I was drinking and everything seems better.

Speaking of which, the warm weather was always a trigger for me and yesterday I had those little tiny thoughts creeping back again. What if I just had ONE beer, who would know or care??? Well, I would know and I would care and I sure as hell know that ONE beer would never be enough. Pretty soon I snapped out of it and this morning I am a little bit stronger for it. Besides, I'd have to come on here and tell you all what happened and I'd have to wait a whole year to get back in the club. Thanks for helping to keep me accountable, you guys and gals are THE BEST

Rusty Zipper

congrats pinky

and as itch mentioned,

i remember looking back at it as "The Wonderful Two's"

tootsl1

Congratulations PinkGate and welcome,

I find that the second year of sobriety does indeed bring it's own challenges. I feel it is only as you pass that 12 month mark that you begin to really look at how you will move forward in life, rather than just focussing on maintaining recovery. I feel a thread specifically aimed at those of us with a year under our belt helps to keep people here and focussing at a time when perhaps we could become complacent.

tootsl1

Jeni, I sometimes find that if I haven't spoken out about a situation early enough, when it first begins to bother me, I allow it to fester and then end up saying more than I ought, and inevitably feel guilty. I hope you have regained you equilibrium. Monday is a new week and I hope it is a better one for you.

Venus sweetie, I'm sorry and sad that you had such an awful day yesterday. I don't think you are wonderful I know you are. And a very very special person. You have been there when I needed someone, I'll never forget that, I'm so glad someone was able to be there for you.

Itchy, humble apologies, how could I remotely confuse the Undies with the Overries, I blame senility, I blame everything these days on senility, especially flatulence. And the fact I regularly 'forget' my wallet.

tootsl1

FBL meant to say well done on crushing the craving, a cold beer on a hot day is one that always sings it's siren call to me, but I know if I listen I'll end up on the rocks !

DG0409

Pinkgate- I too can relate to having more progress to make in year 2. But I'm awfully excited for it.

Jeni- I hope you can turn the day around and get to feeling better.

Venus- I agree with others that you are very deserving. You are so kind to everyone here.

Yesterday was my 13 month anniversary of being alcohol free. The last month seems to have just flown by. I suppose my spending 2 weeks of it on the road probably had something to do with that.

I got home yesterday and am glad to have gotten a good night's sleep last night. Today I plan to just settle i and get caught up on things around here. Even when I leave things in good shape, there is stuff to do when I get home. The cats get hair everywhere and track in a bunch of dirt while I am gone. The weeds grow a bunch, the lawn/plants need water, and there is a stack of mail to sort through. Not to mention unpacking and taking my car to the car wash.

But I do love to travel. It was really nice to get away from home and see some different stuff.

MidnightBlue

Hi, Overries)

Feeling almost normal again, back to active life.

Today I am exhausted not with my workouts, but with "large-scale" house cleaning. I hate this with all my guts, and proved another time that it is easier for me to master boxing than house cleaning.

I was doing kitchen, and among all things my electric tea kettle screamed to be cleaned - there was scale inside. So I scrubbed it with soda, and then to remove the rest added vinegar and boiled water. Apparently, there was some soda left, so when water was boiling there was big "foam" and water came out and was all around and got into electric part of the kettle. It caused circuit, safety plugs got in the game, and power went off.

Luckily, nothing serious happened, and I got power back. Though, have no idea if my kettle will be ok after this cleaning. But the kitchen is shining.

Well, I think I am safer when I am boxing)

Hope everyone has a good sober weekend.

See you)

stevie88

Hey gang not long back from a 15 hour shift at work....Followed that with a 45 minute gym session and now chomping my way through a thousand calories worth of chinese food....Best get off to sleep soon as I'm back at work for another 15 hour shift in 8 hours time...

Hope everyone is well....Take care....Steve.

instant

Just got back from a week away. Plenty of opportunity to drink withput anyone but me knowing, even duty free. In the past these situations got the better of me very often. I feels good to have made the most of my descretionary time rather than sitting in bars. I also noticed that there was less a sense of ' im not drinking' than in the past. Its a good feeeling to have a sense of calm confidence balanced with a degree of humility that comes with knowing the risks.

Jeni26

Hi all. Honestly Steve, I have NO idea how you manage those working hours and still manage to get to the gym and function at all! You're amazing!

I'm going to have to work really hard on myself and my attitude/resentment over the next week or so. We've a friend staying this weekend and I didn't get to bed until nearly 2 am...and it's now 5.30 and I'm up working on stuff for school. My colleague has been given Monday at home because he is running behind on things. Deep breaths. 3 of the 4 management team are busy and not in school tomorrow, so I'm basically covering for them and trying to do my own work. It is impossible really.

I have reached that point when I know things have got to change.

I mean change with me...because I'm too busy stamping my feet and sulking that it's not fair...and getting consumed by it that I'm not living the way I want to do. This time of year is always hard. I need to smile, speak up when I need to, look out for others, be selfless instead of selfish, and stop trying to run the show....

I will get back to you when I have cracked it...and I'm really worried about how I will cope at work tomorrow. But it's not tomorrow today. And today I'm ok. Tired but ok.

Now, I'm REALLY gonna stop moaning ok? If I whinge again, you have permission to kick my butt...

Happy Sunday everyone x